Clash of Clans is a free-to-play app which is a cross between a strategy and simulation game from developer Supercell. The primary goal is to build as well as protect your town from the hideous goblin horde, which threatens to destroy any human villages they come across, especially those lush with gold and other useful resources. This game promises to avoid falling into the trap of being just a simple simulation game and introduces some interesting strategic elements which shall be further explained below.

Clash of Clans Gameplay

What separates Clash of Clans many of the other “city building” apps are the strategic portions, which provide unexpected moments of excitement throughout while the player builds up his/her town. Goblins are constantly rampaging through the lands and are prone to attack towns at any time, which mean that the player must construct defenses and carefully plan out structure placement to avoid isolating vulnerable buildings. Any structures that are left alone, away from city defenses are easy prey for Goblins whom are more than happy to destroy human structures and loot any unprotected resources to continue their pillaging ways. The tables can be turned however, and Clash of Clans allows the player to train warriors which are indispensible in leading counter attack raids on goblin camps.

The interface by which you will be navigating through the game is through an isometric view of your town including all of your buildings and villagers which will slowly grow as your expand your territory. The economy in Clash of clans runs on 3 elements, gold, elixir and gems. Gold is used to construct as well as upgrade buildings. Elixir is used to train warriors and gems are used to “rush” any such training or building mechanisms so it is completed immediately.

As with many free-to-play mobile games in-app purchases allow the player to stockpile gems, gold or elixir that can be used to advance the game much quicker than simply playing without contributing real money. The gameplay is however, structured very well so well the impatient may be tempted to resort to spending some coin, most should be able to jump in to Clash of Clans and play at a leisurely pace without worrying about monetary costs.

For those that wish to develop their town in peace, Clash of clans has a Shield system where players can spend gems where in exchange the user is provided with 100% immunity from attacks for the duration of the shield purchased. Duration from multiple shields stack so as long as the player is willing to spend the gems (and hence money) the player may construct a powerhouse town without fear of having their structures ravaged or their resources looted.

Clash of Clans also has a multiplayer component where users can choose to attack another player’s town. This provides an additional sense of excitement as well as competition; however, it also removes your shield protection, making your town vulnerable to assault from other players and goblins so take care when deciding on whom to invade. As with other war games, alliances (clans) may be formed to help protect weaker players from attack. Rounding out Clash of Clans is an achievement system that awards players gems for accomplishing them. Considering the immense value of this resource it is in the player’s best interests to pursue them and it provides gamers with an additional sense of accomplishment for reaching certain goals or milestones.

Clash of Clans Graphics

Clash of Clans has very well done graphics for an isometric view strategy/simulation hybrid and even when zoomed in (the app has full pinch to zoom support) the animated sprite villagers look pretty good. In terms of performance there are no lags, glitches or bugs and everything from the weather animations (such as snow) to fire and puffs of smoke from building chimneys these are the nice little touches which show the player that the developer cares about quality and is willing to put in the effort to ensure a top-notch free-to-play mobile gaming experience. For Clash of Clans’ intended market, players will not be disappointed in the least.

Clash of Clans Sounds

The soundtrack is very well done and is suitable for immersing the player into the game and the quality of the sounds, especially during combat or from successfully completing a raid on a golbin camp should keep users playing for many hours on end. The developer, Supercell also adds a nice touch with the audio as well, supplementing the basic music with themes that are in accordance with many holidays (such as Christmas). It shows that Supercell is willing to put additional effort into the game, adding some variety to keep things interesting.

Clash of Clans Round-up

Clash of Clans is a very well wade game that successfully blends two key genres of gaming together. The city-building portion is solid and entices players to remain with this game for the long haul, while the prospect of raiding other players and goblin camps for some extra resources injects moments of intense exhilaration. The game is very playable without resorting to in-app purchases (though it does extend things quite a bit) and the graphics as well as music are very well done. Clash of Clans is unlikely to disappoint mobile device users craving a good town building app, while immersing the player in tense battles that could inject your city with the glut of resources it needs to gain the upper hand. Navigating and playing Clash of Clans it was easy to see that it screamed high quality and Supercell has overall done an excellent job!

Bottom line: It’s one of the top games in the app store for a reason. Because it’s good!

Clash of Clans Screenshots

Overview of Rating

Review Rating

Pros:

Great new building experience

The design of the game is polished and everything seems well developed.